Saturday and Sunday
10AM Sat to 1PM Sun, 26-27 June,
The Matanuska Amateur Radio Association (MARA) will be setting up our systems at
Wasilla Fire Station 61,
Will conduct this Emergency Exercise.
We will have 3 Communications Trailers setup Open to the public
Stop by and visit and see what Ham Radio
is all about and even try it.
Contact Don at kl7jft@arrl.net
Fire at Sea http://www.kl7gq.com/fireatsea.htm
MARA Web Site HTTP://www.kl7jfu.com
Contact: For more Information
Don Bush
KL7JFT
President of MARA
MATSU District Emergency Coordinator
746-6845
868-6115
WEB SITE
This is an annual Emergency Exercise that all Ham Radio Organizations go thru every year. Its allows us to practice Emergency Communications Procedures, training, and demonstrations for the public. So it is two fold. Public education to inform our communities of capabilities of ham radio operators to assist them and Emergency Services during times that regular communications may not be available. The 1964 AK Quake, Miller Reach Fires, flooding on the Kenai and the Valley and various other areas around Alaska. In the lower 48, Katrina, California Earthquakes, Kentucky Ice Storms are just a few of the operations that Ham Radio Operators were instrumental in assisting the public and Emergency Services due to commercial means were destroyed. The other part is an opportunity for Hams to come together in various communities across the nation to train and test their systems and procedures then to communicate to each other to verify how effective our systems are and what we can improve on.
In the Matsu Valley, we have approximately 300 Amateur Radio Operators (Hams). We have around 3500 across Alaska. A Ham Radio Operator is a trained and licensed radio operator that must meet various qualifications and pass FCC testing to become licensed. Hams furnish all their own equipment by purchasing or building it, including antenna, radios, interface devices, etc. The hobby has several aspects and depending on what the Ham would like to achieve or participate in, they can provide quite a realm of possibilities.
Some Hams like to just communicate around the world, others, provide backup Emergency Communications, other build various electronic devices that in a lot of cases becomes the everyday system you buy at the store. Almost every electronic system you see today, may of been developed by a Ham Radio Operator. We support the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts groups, assisting in training and introducing them to radio and electronics. We teach classes to individuals who would like to get their licenses and conduct the qualifying test for them.
Our system consist of much more than High Frequency Long Range radios, shortwave radios were originally developed by Hams. We have short range, VHF/UHF systems, people may know them as walkie talkies. We can communicate via Satellites and talk to the Spaces Station. Certain types of remote control airplanes or device radio control systems were developed and used by Hams. We can send Faxes, Email, TV Signals, all by Ham Radio without means of commercial power, telephone lines or internet. We send signal by voice, Morse code, radio teletype, computer, several other methods. This is were Ham Radio becomes important during emergency situations. When all normal means of communications fail, Hams can take their radios, build an antenna, hook it to a battery or emergency generator and communicate to other Hams that can connect them back into Public Assistance Systems to provide their communities aide outside the affected area.
Sailors across our oceans can connect to the mainland thru Ham Radio Operators. Another aspect of Ham Radio is assistance to the Military, through what we refer to as MARS stations, (Military Affiliated Radio Stations). Hams have ran thousands of phone patches (interfacing their radio to the telephone lines) for deployed military service members and sent messages to their loved ones. Even today MARS operators conduct phone patches for our Military folks deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. We have Hams that are part of Saturn, which is the group that supports the Salvation Army. In Alaska we supply all the communications for Red Cross Shelters.
So that’s just a brief idea what this is all about. So Saturday and Sunday 10AM Sat to 1PM Sun, 26-27 June, the Matanuska Amateur Radio Association (MARA) will be setting up our systems at Wasilla Fire Station 61, to conduct this Emergency Exercise. We will have 3 Communications Trailers setup and it is open to the public to stop by and visit and see what Ham Radio is all about and even try it.
Thank you so much for your interest.
Don Bush
KL7JFT
President of MARA
MATSU District Emergency Coordinator
746-6845
868-6115
Communities - On The Glenn Highway Scenic Byway 
